Rugby 2017 Discussion

Wow, work has been crazy and with the Premier League starting again, it comletely slipped my mind that the rugby championhip satrts this coming weekend. Argentina up first for the Boks in PE. No Whiteley or Vermeulen who are injured and Francois Steyn is also not in the squad for some reason.

BOK SQUAD

FORWARDS (19):

Uzair Cassiem (flank/No 8), Toyota Cheetahs – 1 cap, 5 points (1 try)
Lood de Jager (lock), Vodacom Bulls – 29 caps, 20 points (4 tries)
Dan du Preez (No 8), Cell C Sharks - uncapped
Jean-Luc du Preez (loose forward), Cell C Sharks – 4 caps, 0 points
Pieter-Steph du Toit (lock), DHL Stormers – 23 caps, 15 points (3 tries)
Eben Etzebeth (lock), DHL Stormers – 57 caps, 15 points (3 tries)
Lizo Gqoboka (prop), Vodacom Bulls – uncapped
Steven Kitshoff (prop), DHL Stormers – 13 caps, 0 points
Siya Kolisi (flank), DHL Stormers – 19 caps, 5 points (1 try)
Jaco Kriel (loose forward), Emirates Lions/Kubota Spears (Jap) – 8 caps, 0 points
Frans Malherbe (prop), DHL Stormers – 17 caps, 0 points
Malcolm Marx (hooker), Emirates Lions – 5 caps, 5 points (1 try)
Bongi Mbonambi (hooker), DHL Stormers – 8 caps; 0 points
Oupa Mohoje (loose forward), Toyota Cheetahs – 17 tests, 0 points
Franco Mostert (lock), Emirates Lions/Ricoh Black Rams (Jap) – 10 caps, 0 points
Tendai Mtawarira (prop), Cell C Sharks – 90 caps, 10 points (2 tries)
Trevor Nyakane (prop), Vodacom Bulls – 28 – 5 points (1 try)
Coenie Oosthuizen (prop), Cell C Sharks – 26 caps, 20 points (4 tries)
Chiliboy Ralepelle (hooker), Cell C Sharks – 22 caps, 5 points (1 try)

BACKS (15):

Curwin Bosch (flyhalf), Cell C Sharks – uncapped
Andries Coetzee (fullback), Emirates Lions – 3 caps, 0 points
Ross Cronje (scrumhalf), Emirates Lions – 2 caps, 5 points (1 try)
Damian de Allende (centre), DHL Stormers – 22 Caps, 15 points (3 tries)
Warrick Gelant (fullback), Vodacom Bulls – uncapped
Francois Hougaard (scrumhalf), Worcester (England) – 42 caps, 25 points (5 tries)
Elton Jantjies (flyhalf), Emirates Lions/NTT Shining Arcs (Jap) – 14 caps, 130 points (1 try, 22 conversions, 27 penalties)
Jesse Kriel (centre), Vodacom Bulls – 19 caps, 25 points (5 tries)
Dillyn Leyds (utility back), DHL Stormers – 3 caps, 0 points
Rudy Paige (scrumhalf), Vodacom Bulls – 8 caps, 5 points (1 try)
Handré Pollard (flyhalf), Vodacom Bulls – 20 caps, 188 points (2 tries, 29 con, 37 pen, 3 dropkicks)
Raymond Rhule (wing), Toyota Cheetahs – 3 caps 0 points
Jan Serfontein (centre), Vodacom Bulls – 29 caps, 20 points (4 tries)
Courtnall Skosan (wing), Emirates Lions – 3 caps 0 pints
Francois Venter (centre), Toyota Cheetahs – 3 caps, 0 points

Not sure if Faf de Klerk's absence is due to him leaving for england but I would probably have him instead of Paige. Otherwise no real complaints apart from Pollard over Steyn (thought he was injured anyways). Hopefully the Boks can win home and away against Argentina and then give the Australasians a run for their money.
 
For about the 15th time or so, i watched a repeat of the 2nd Bledisloe Cup test in 2000, the first test played at Westpac Stadium. It's the game where John Eales kicked a last gasp penalty to win the match and retain the Bledisloe Cup for Australia. Every time i watch that game, i still expect the Wallabies to lose.
 
A wonderful excerpt from Tony Johnson's recent column via Supersport's website. He hits the nail on the head as to why the Melbourne Rebels should have been cut from Super Rugby but weren't. I'd also advise the ARU to read the bit about New Zealand not being interested in a Trans Tasman comp, accept it and work forward from there.

'' Finally, back to the future of Super Rugby.

At last Australian Rugby has made a decision, although like just about everything else in this tumescent saga, they got it wrong.

Western Australia has a rugby heritage, boosted by a large expat New Zealand and South African community. They’ve produced some good players of their own to go with the imports, while strategically there is less competition for bums on seats with no NRL league club in WA. This year the Force played with passion and commitment and ended up second in the Aussie conference.

Conversely, Melbourne always has been and always will be infatuated with that Aussie curio called AFL. It also has a massive European culture that makes football extremely popular. If the highly successful Melbourne Storm rugby league club has battled to make an indent, what chance rugby? Their form this year was lame, at times it appeared their players had no heart for the battle, and the fanbase has waned.

It looked like a no brainer, but the ARU had painted itself into such a corner that they ended up burning the team that deserved most to stay, a decision they may now have to fight for in court.

ARU CEO Bill Pulver is copping the blame, and deserves plenty, but not all. This shambles took root before his time.

In convincing Sanzaar they should have five teams, a plea supported by South Africa as long as they could have six, Australia over-reached.

They wanted Super Rugby to grow the game domestically, when that is not Sanzaar's job. They stretched their player resources way too thin, and ended up filling out their rosters with imports, including players not good enough for New Zealand teams and a succession of hit and miss converts from rugby league.

With millions going down the drain, the ARU handed over control of Melbourne to private ownership, which came back to bite them when the Rebels really needed to be chopped.

The sum total of it all is both a disaster for Australia, and an indictment of Sanzaar's inability to break out from a legacy of constant compromise. Expansion has dragged the standard of Super Rugby down and badly damaged the perception of rugby in the highly competitive Aussie market.

They cut the wrong team, but at least a more concentrated player pool should restore some success and credibility to the game in Australia.

Of course it could yet be derailed by court action, but Sanzaar has to stick to its guns.

The next step is to put the heat on Argentina and Japan to justify their presence. There are some very good reasons for having them in Super Rugby, but one or two pretty strong arguments against, and If they can’t be more competitive, then they too must come into the firing line.

South Africa has emerged from the process with credit for the proactive manner in which they’ve dealt with the cull, and it will be fascinating to see how the Cheetahs and Kings are incorporated into the European scene.

It’s a foot in the door, which opens up possibilities for the future, but it was encouraging (from a New Zealand perspective) to hear Jurie Roux talk about South Africa’s commitment to Sanzaar in the long term.

This comes as calls mount in Australia for Sanzaar to become ANZ a Trans Tasman only, or a more Pacific-based series without South Africa.

But any moves to exclude South Africa will garner zero support from the New Zealand Union.

We all have our gripes about Super Rugby, but the fact that the three founder nations have been so strong, so regularly at the top of the World Rugby rankings since 1996, says it all, and I for one reckon it’s inconceivable to try and do without it.

It just needs to be done better, and the reduction to 15 teams is a start.''
 
I agree with everything in that article. I think in a few years, the Jaguares will be more competitive. They've already showed some good signs but need more consistency. Whether or not the franchise is financially valuable in terms of TV money and attendances in Argentina is another matter. The sunwolves have far greater challenges.
 
By the way, I've just realised there's been nothing in here about the Women's World Cup... Big disappointment for Ireland against France on Thursday. The warning signs were there after a poor game against Japan, but it was pretty sad to see them get beaten so comprehensively.

France, NZ, USA and England in the semis, I've no idea why they don't have QFs.
 
Australia's scrum is Wayne Barnes's good books at the moment, a free kick and full arm penalty. 7-6 NZ.
 
Not winning your own kick off is criminal and it has resulted in a try for NZ.
 
That was a gift. Must keep the ball better. They're too good to gift tries and points too.
 
Aussies have been good so far but NZ are so clinical. They punish all your mistakes.
 
30 missed tackles in the first 30 minutes. Not surprised, the defense coach for Australia is the defense coach from the Tahs and they conceded tries for fun.
 
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